Program Requirements

Required Courses (6 credits)

Overview

Women's Studies : An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women's Studies from historical and contemporary perspectives, this course will explore key concepts, issues and modes of analysis based on the intersection of gender with factors such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, and sexuality.

Overview

Women's Studies : This course explores contemporary feminist theories and critiques of approaches to knowledge developed in the humanities, social, natural, and applied sciences. Feminist contributions to research and critical practices will be examined in relation to course projects.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Elizabeth Groeneveld (Winter)

Prerequisite: WMST 200

Restriction: Open to Women's Studies students only

Complementary Courses (30 credits)

Overview of the specifications for the 30 complementary credits:

3 credits from a list of Women's Studies (WMST) courses and
27 remaining credits with a minimum of 6 credits at the 400 or 500 level with:
12 credits selected from Group A courses and
15 credits selected from Group B courses

A maximum 12 transfer credits will be accepted from approved exchange programs by arrangement with the Chair of the Women's Studies Advisory Committee and subject to University approval.

Overview

Women's Studies : This course is a philosophical exploration of the nature of science concerning sex, gender, race and racial stereotypes, and the construction of "womanhood". The social history/biography of women and minorities in science will be studied to develop a critique of biological determinism and explore the meaning and possibility of a "feminist science".

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Complementary Course Group A

12 credits from Group A

Group A courses are divided into eight sub-groups. Students may take only one course from any particular grouping. Any additional credits taken above the 12 credits from Complementary Course Group A may count as credits toward Complementary Course Group B.

Group A-1

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : This course focuses on social changes in gender relations, gender inequalities and the social construction of gender. Using sociological theories of gender, different social institutions and spheres of society will be analyzed. Topics such as gender socialization, gender relations in work, family, education, and media will be covered.

Terms: Fall 2013, Summer 2014

Instructors: Candice Shaw, Alissa Mazar (Fall)

Group A-2

Overview

Philosophy : An introduction to feminist theory as political theory. Emphasis is placed on the plurality of analyses and proposals that constitute contemporary feminist thought. Some of the following are considered: liberal feminism, marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism, postmodern feminism, francophone feminism, and the contributions to feminist theory by women of colour and lesbians.

Note: Since this course is being taught abroad, the Victoria Day statutory holiday will not be taken into consideration. Therefore, students are expected to attend their lecture on Monday, May 19, 2014.

Group A-3

Overview

Communication Studies : Introduction to feminist studies of the media. Impact of feminist and queer theory on media studies; current issues about gender in the media. Emphasis will be placed on critical analysis of media representations of gender in relation to other social differences, such as race, class and sexuality.

Group A-4, Gender Relations in Major Societal Institutions

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Contrasting family in Canada and in the United States for the recent past. Examination of theories on family; changes and diversity of family life; complex relationships among marriage, work, and family; domestic violence; various types of family experience; and the future of the family.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Focus on men's and women's work in North American societies, historically and contemporarily, in order to understand the dynamisms of gender (in)equality in and outside of the home. Topics explored include: housework; the relationship(s) between gender, organizations and bureaucracy; emotional labour; occupational segregation and stratification; sexual harassment; and work-family policy.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Key conceptual and substantive issues in gender and health since c1950: stratified medicalization of women's and men's health; social movements in health including the women's health movement; gender inequality in morbidity and mortality; gender, power and control in patient/physician interactions; embodied experience; politics and policies of gender and health.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Sarah Berry (Winter)

Group A-5, Transnational or National Histories of Women/Gender and Sexuality

Overview

Asian Language & Literature : Social and cultural history of sexuality in Japan. Possible topics include pre-modern sexuality and relations to court, religion and anthropology; pre-modern sex and gender relations; modern sexuality and gender identities; sexuality and the rise of science; relation to nationalism; feminism and queer movements.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

History : Antiquity to Early Modern Europe. The cultural meanings and social institutions that create the historical context for sexual behaviours. Possible topics include: Greek homosocial and homosexual culture; sex and citizenship; wives and concubines in the ancient world; Christianity and aestheticism; misogyny and gender in Medieval Europe; adultery and lineage.

Overview

History : 1700 to the present, with a particular focus on Europe and North America. Possible topics include: patterns of fertility and sexual practice; prostitution; religion and sexuality; the medical and legal construction of sexualities; the rise of sexology; gay liberation movements; queer politics.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Brian D A Lewis (Winter)

Group A-6, Women/Gender and Literature

Overview

Asian Language & Literature : Gender and sexuality in modern and/or premodern Chinese literature with emphasis on representation of gender relations, notions of masculinity and femininity, morality and sexuality. Readings from fiction, drama, poetry, and/or other genres are approached from a variety of critical perspectives.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Group A-7, Women/Gender in a Religious Tradition

Overview

Religious Studies : The role of women in Judaism and Islam from the point of view of institutionalized religious traditions and of women's religious subjectivity; how women's spiritual and social roles within their religious traditions are shaped by Revealed Law, Holy Text and the Authority of Interpretation. Comparative sociology of religion approach.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Group A-8, Women and Health

Overview

Health Science Electives : Exploration of a wide range of topics on the health of women. Topics include use of health care system, poverty, roles, immigration, body image, lesbian health, and violence against women. Additional topics vary by year. A Health Science elective open to students in the Faculties of Arts, Science, and Medicine.

Terms: Fall 2013

Instructors: Kimani Daniel (Fall)

Fall

Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology or Sociology or permission of the instructor

Complementary course for the Women's Studies and Social Studies of Medicine Concentrations

Overview

Health Science Electives : Concepts of health and medicalization. Canadian and international perspectives. Topics include contraception, abortion, infertility, menstruation, menopause, new reproductive technologies, prenatal care, childbirth. Additional topics vary by year. A Health Science elective open to students in the Faculties of Arts, Science, and Medicine.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Anne Marie Lanctot, Lise Doiron, Joanne Power (Winter)

Winter

Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology or Sociology or permission of the instructor

Restriction: not open for credit to students who have taken HSEL 308 prior to September 1997

Complementary course for the Women's Studies and Social Studies of Medicine Concentrations

Complementary Course Group B

15 credits from Group B

Students select 15 credits from the Group B lists in consultation with an adviser and identify an individual focus of study comprised of 9 credits.

Reminder: A minimum of 6 credits at the 400 or 500 level must be taken in the 27 credits of Complementary Course Groups A and B. Students will find more possible choices to meet this requirement in Group B.

Group B includes courses that significantly engage with issues of gender and/or women and/or feminism. They are offered by a range of faculties and disciplines.

Overview

Anthropology : A wide range of anthropological studies are examined and compared, along with theoretical models regarding changes in women's positions. The impact of
colonialism, women and social change, and problems of women in developing societies are examined.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Fall

Prerequisites: ANTH 202 or ANTH 205, or ANTH 206, or ANTH 342, or Women's Studies Minor, or permission of instructor

Overview

Anthropology : Comparative studies of gender in stratified societies: Asia, the Mid-East, Latin and North America. Economic, political and social manifestations of gender inequality. Oppressive and egalitarian ideologies. State and institutional policies on gender, and male-female strategies. Sexual apartheid and integration.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Winter

Prerequisite: ANTH 202, or ANTH 205, or ANTH 206, or ANTH 341, or Women's Studies Minor, or permission of instructor

Overview

Anthropology : Relationship between the structure of the archaeological discipline and construction of gender roles in past human societies; division of tasks between men and women in subsistence activities, organization of the household and kin groups; and creation of power and prestige in a larger community.

Terms: Fall 2013

Instructors: Maria Theresia Starzmann (Fall)

Fall

Prerequisite: ANTH 201 or ANTH 331 or ANTH 345 or ANTH 347 or ANTH 348 or permission of instructor

Overview

Communication Studies : Introduction to feminist studies of the media. Impact of feminist and queer theory on media studies; current issues about gender in the media. Emphasis will be placed on critical analysis of media representations of gender in relation to other social differences, such as race, class and sexuality.

Overview

Asian Language & Literature : Gender and sexuality in modern and/or premodern Chinese literature with emphasis on representation of gender relations, notions of masculinity and femininity, morality and sexuality. Readings from fiction, drama, poetry, and/or other genres are approached from a variety of critical perspectives.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Asian Language & Literature : Social and cultural history of sexuality in Japan. Possible topics include pre-modern sexuality and relations to court, religion and anthropology; pre-modern sex and gender relations; modern sexuality and gender identities; sexuality and the rise of science; relation to nationalism; feminism and queer movements.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Asian Language & Literature : Seminar dealing with issues relating to gender, the feminine, especially in the context of Japan. The course will draw on a range of theoretical frameworks, and may include the analysis of literature, film, art and popular culture.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: Any East Asian Studies course above the introductory level, or permission of instructor

Overview

Ed Psych & Couns (Psychology) : Theoretical models and empirical findings relevant to the development of gender identity. Special attention is given to the influence of peers in school settings. Psychological, physiological, parental, peer and cultural influences on gender identity.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

German (Arts) : In connection with notions of identity, nationhood, political change, and cultural difference, this course investigates concepts and issues of gender in contemporary German Society. The readings include critical essays and literary texts by writers, scholars, philosophers, journalists, politicians, and political activists.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Hispanic Studies (Arts) : Social movements and literary tendencies, as reflected in the novels and short stories of representative authors of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Gómez de Avellaneda, Matto de Turner, Brunet, Bombal, Levinson, and others.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

History : Antiquity to Early Modern Europe. The cultural meanings and social institutions that create the historical context for sexual behaviours. Possible topics include: Greek homosocial and homosexual culture; sex and citizenship; wives and concubines in the ancient world; Christianity and aestheticism; misogyny and gender in Medieval Europe; adultery and lineage.

Overview

History : An introduction to concepts of women and the realities of women's lives in western Europe from the Black Death to ca. 1700. Topics will include marriage and the family, female education and literacy, varieties of spirituality and the emergence of a proto-feminism during the Renaissance.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

History : This course examines women's contribution to the economic and social development of Canada as well as the changes in the image and status of women. Special emphasis will be on the relationship between women's roles in the private sphere and the public domain.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

History : 1700 to the present, with a particular focus on Europe and North America. Possible topics include: patterns of fertility and sexual practice; prostitution; religion and sexuality; the medical and legal construction of sexualities; the rise of sexology; gay liberation movements; queer politics.

Overview

History : An overview of the history of women in modern continental Europe, focusing on women's changing roles in the family and society at large, in the context of work, family life, education, and culture, and the changing notions of citizenship, femininity, and masculinity.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Judith Szapor (Winter)

Prerequisites: One course in European history or permission of Instructor

Overview

History : Women and gender in modern Britain (1850 on). Topics include early feminist political agitation, including the suffrage movement; working-class women; changing notions of gender, sexuality and women's role; women and empire.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: HIST 215 or a course in British history or permission of instructor

Overview

History : The history of gender and sexuality in modern China. Topics include Chinese femininities and Chinese masculinities, theories of sexuality, and changing conceptions of gender identity under Confucianism, Western Imperialism, and socialism.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: A 300-level course in the History of China or Gender/Sexuality or permission of instructor.

Overview

History : Gender, sexuality, and medicine since the colonial era, with a focus on North American experience. Topics will include reproductive medicine (puberty, childbirth, fertility control, menopause), changing perceptions of men's and women's health needs and risks, and ideas about sexual behaviour and identity.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Andrea Tone (Winter)

Prerequisite: A 300-level History course in gender, sexuality or medicine or permission of instructor.

Overview

History : An investigation of the changing historical construction of "deviant" and "normal" sexualities in Britain since 1700, and how queer women and men discovered ways of surviving and perhaps even flourishing in the face of persecution and hostility from the state, the churches and the medical profession.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisites: HIST 215 or a course in British History or permission of instructor.

Overview

History : A focus on women in the history of the late-19th- and 20th-Century Middle East, and on the ways in which gender analysis and sexuality illuminate the history of national and religious communities. Topics such as: education, masculinity, sexuality, Western representations of Middle Eastern women, and gender and the nation.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: A course on women, gender or sexuality or permission of instructor.

Overview

History : A research seminar on the history of women in Canada since Confederation. Students will get familiar with primary sources and are expected to produce a major research paper in the second term.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: HIST 203 or consent of instructor

Restriction: Not open to students who have taken HIST 493

Students must register for both HIST 463D1 and HIST 463D2.

No credit will be given for this course unless both HIST 463D1 and HIST 463D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

Overview

History : The shifting historical context of female labour and family in selected western and non-western countries; the interaction between labour and gender relations with special focus on women's experiences on the shop floor and in the family.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: A 300 or 400-level course in women's history or labour history or permission of instructor

Overview

History : Examines the impact of war on individuals, families and societies. Studies the experiences of women and children in exile, mass persecutions, and punishments associated with social unrest, revolution or wars during twentieth century.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Malek Abisaab (Winter)

Prerequisite(s): A 300 or 400-levelcourse in women's history or permission of instructor

Overview

Health Science Electives : Exploration of a wide range of topics on the health of women. Topics include use of health care system, poverty, roles, immigration, body image, lesbian health, and violence against women. Additional topics vary by year. A Health Science elective open to students in the Faculties of Arts, Science, and Medicine.

Terms: Fall 2013

Instructors: Kimani Daniel (Fall)

Fall

Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology or Sociology or permission of the instructor

Complementary course for the Women's Studies and Social Studies of Medicine Concentrations

Overview

Health Science Electives : Concepts of health and medicalization. Canadian and international perspectives. Topics include contraception, abortion, infertility, menstruation, menopause, new reproductive technologies, prenatal care, childbirth. Additional topics vary by year. A Health Science elective open to students in the Faculties of Arts, Science, and Medicine.

Terms: Winter 2014

Instructors: Anne Marie Lanctot, Lise Doiron, Joanne Power (Winter)

Winter

Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology or Sociology or permission of the instructor

Restriction: not open for credit to students who have taken HSEL 308 prior to September 1997

Complementary course for the Women's Studies and Social Studies of Medicine Concentrations

Overview

Music-Arts Faculty : Repertoire composed and/or performed by women since 1920, with a focus on North America and women's participation in music in a variety of roles. Special attention will be paid to the different challenges faced by women of different races and classes, in both avant-garde and popular music traditions.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Philosophy : An introduction to feminist theory as political theory. Emphasis is placed on the plurality of analyses and proposals that constitute contemporary feminist thought. Some of the following are considered: liberal feminism, marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism, postmodern feminism, francophone feminism, and the contributions to feminist theory by women of colour and lesbians.

Note: Since this course is being taught abroad, the Victoria Day statutory holiday will not be taken into consideration. Therefore, students are expected to attend their lecture on Monday, May 19, 2014.

Overview

Philosophy : An advanced course devoted to a specific topic in feminist theory: e.g., a major figure; or theme, such as sex/gender, embodiment, race, subjectivity, agency, representation, politics, nature/culture, discourse and power; or a feminist approach to the history of philosophy, ethics, social/political philosophy, epistemology, philosophy of science, phenomenology, or metaphysics.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prerequisite: Any 400-level, 3 credit course in political philosophy, or permission of the instructor.

Overview

Religious Studies : The role of women in Judaism and Islam from the point of view of institutionalized religious traditions and of women's religious subjectivity; how women's spiritual and social roles within their religious traditions are shaped by Revealed Law, Holy Text and the Authority of Interpretation. Comparative sociology of religion approach.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Contrasting family in Canada and in the United States for the recent past. Examination of theories on family; changes and diversity of family life; complex relationships among marriage, work, and family; domestic violence; various types of family experience; and the future of the family.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : This course focuses on social changes in gender relations, gender inequalities and the social construction of gender. Using sociological theories of gender, different social institutions and spheres of society will be analyzed. Topics such as gender socialization, gender relations in work, family, education, and media will be covered.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Focus on men's and women's work in North American societies, historically and contemporarily, in order to understand the dynamisms of gender (in)equality in and outside of the home. Topics explored include: housework; the relationship(s) between gender, organizations and bureaucracy; emotional labour; occupational segregation and stratification; sexual harassment; and work-family policy.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Exploration of the main development theories and discussion of how gender is placed within them, analysis of the practical application of development projects and discussion of how they affect gender dynamics, and examination of power relations between development agencies and developing countries. Examples from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America are used.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Key conceptual and substantive issues in gender and health since c1950: stratified medicalization of women's and men's health; social movements in health including the women's health movement; gender inequality in morbidity and mortality; gender, power and control in patient/physician interactions; embodied experience; politics and policies of gender and health.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Sociological examination of the human body as a cultural phenomenon that intersects with identity, health, illness, disability and medicine. Exploration of meanings attributed to human bodies as well as the body as a site of social interaction.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Examination of the social causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Gender inequality, sexual behaviours, marriage systems, migration, and poverty are shaping the pandemic as well as how the pandemic is altering social, demographic and economic conditions across Africa.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Focus on the diverse forces of globalization that impact the lives of men and women. Critical analysis of key theories and concepts implicated in the intersection of globalization processes with gender dynamisms.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : This seminar critically reviews theoretical perspectives and research on sex and gender in various domains of social life. It gives special emphasis to work which considers the meaning of gender and how it differs across time and place.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Restriction: Open to Honours Sociology students and to Sociology Majors with the permission of the instructor

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : This seminar reviews literature on major research areas in family. The course examines families in the past, the study of family using a life course approach, and considers selective areas which may have had significant influences on contemporary family such as work and family, family violence, and cultural variation in families.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Restrictions: Open to U2 and U3 students after completing 30 credits of a 90 credit program or 45 credits of a 96-120 credit program. A minimum CGPA of 2.7, and permission of the departmental advisor are required. This course will not normally fulfill program requirements for seminar or 400-level courses.

Overview

Women's Studies : This course is a philosophical exploration of the nature of science concerning sex, gender, race and racial stereotypes, and the construction of "womanhood". The social history/biography of women and minorities in science will be studied to develop a critique of biological determinism and explore the meaning and possibility of a "feminist science".

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Complementary Course Group B: Special Topics Courses

The courses below are acceptable ONLY when the topic is appropriate for Women's Studies (significantly engages with issues of gender and/or women and/or feminism) and there is documentation on file for the given year. Additions may be made during a particular calendar year depending on the topics of the courses offered. For final updates, see http://www.mcgill.ca/igsf.

Overview

History : This course will examine themes in the history of the Canadian family from 1850. Historical study reveals the family as a diverse, changing, social institution. Marriage, childhood, sexuality, and the state will come under examination and the Canadian experience will be compared to that of the U.S.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Overview

Jewish Studies : Within a comparative framework, this course examines cultural, thematic and artistic developments in the works of modern Jewish literature written in both Jewish and non-Jewish languages. For those without reading knowledge of the original, all works are available in English translation.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.